Maddy hopeful of Twenty20 chance

Friday 12 January 2007 00:09 BST

Darren Maddy is hoping his vast experience of Twenty20 cricket will end a seven-year wait for another chance to prove himself in the international arena.

The 34-year-old Warwickshire captain has been the outstanding player in domestic Twenty20 competition since its creation in 2003, playing a leading role in helping Leicestershire become champions in 2004 and 2006.

"I would like to think experience can count for something," stressed Maddy, who played the last of his eight one-day international and three Test appearances in 1999-2000. "Nothing can ever match international experience but a lot of these guys haven't played a lot of Twenty20 cricket and there are a few little things that we can help them with."

He added: "A lot of the skills that have been developed in Twenty20 cricket are going into 50-overs cricket and even four-day and Test match cricket now.

"It's not often a domestic player gets to play in front of big crowds and has to perform their skills under pressure and that's what Twenty20 is all about so I suppose in that respect it's very similar to international 50-over cricket."

Maddy accepts the challenge of attempting to reverse-sweep international bowlers for six is far greater than doing it on the county stage, but stresses that his ability to simplify the challenge could be crucial in the next two weeks as England attempt to win the inaugural Twenty20 international tournament.

He added: "The reason I've had so much success is because of the lack of thought that's gone into it.

"I've really gone out there and tried to enjoy myself and enjoy the competition and literally take it to its most simple form and that's watch the ball and hit it."